Piston slap on a relatively new engine (10K)

[tomcat27]

you can run a very long time with piston slap. I had it on a Dodge 2.2; and a Chevy 2.0. there are also solutions other than a new engine; it can be repaired; I had a friend who got his fixed under the Chrysler 7/70 warranty - even though it was certainly his own fault. (hardly ever changed oil and ran it low. the oil I drained out looked like a milkshake)
On my Cavalier, the Chevy dealer fixed it even though I was out of warranty at 45k. they were very impressed with how clean the engine was inside. they tried rebuilding it; but it was even worse after; so I ended up with a new short block. Jeep 4.0's are well known for piston slap. anyway, multiple sources will say it's more of an annoyance than a problem.

 

[parshisa]

if this problem was common for these engines installed on the Pilots, I would probably be not as concerned as I am now. With that said, I've tried search online, asked on a few forums and it doesn't look like whole a lot of the Pilot owners out there are having same issue. So likely this is a certain car issue rather than widespread issue. And it definitely sucks...

 

[ram_man]

Hard to say from the video but it seems like I hear something. If it's not right and I had compared it to a couple others I'd probably complain until it was handled.
And to be fair your assuming it's piston slap correct? you don't really know. I wouldn't assume it's that if it's not wide spread and just let it go because usually it's harmless.

 

[SumpChump]

I'm surprised by the replies here. Every modern Toyota I have owned/driven from spanking new has worn whatever skirt coating away and produced easily audible "tocka-tocka" piston slap. Can just hear them Toyota pistons rocking in their bores. Thats a 2.5L 2AR-FE , and two flavors of the venerable Corolla 1.8L. The latest is a long term rental 2017 Corolla which I have had from 5k miles to now 8k miles and it just started pronouncing the piston slap fully audibly. At 5k she was nearly silent yet. The Camry 2.5L now has 60k on it, had it since 4 miles or so. Started the slap also at about 6-10k if i recall.

 

[parshisa]

If I understood you correctly to your taste piston slap is harmless?

 

[ls1mike]

Piston slap is generally harmless. My truck, WS6 and Caprice all do it...but, and maybe it is just the video, that is one clanky loud engine. It sounds worse then my WS6 with aftermarket cam and Patriot gold valve springs.

 

[parshisa]

Oh no, video actually makes it not as bad as in person. It makes me cringe every time I start it cold

 

[Subdued]

I had a subaru forester that had a piston slap through all 180k miles of its life. (as a side note, teenagers are bad for cars)

My corolla has it

So does my van

My Yaris does not. The 1NZFE doesn't seem to develop it.

Obviously i don't feel like it affects longevity.

 

[wog]

Have sierra 01 had piston slap at 10k, has 208k on it now runs as good as new. The body not so much,enjoy the new car.

 

[gregk24]

My previous 2006 Accord with the K24a8 had piston slap. If it is true piston slap it will go away when the engine warms up. Many brands have piston slap issues but I don't ever recall it leading to any problems.

 

[Linctex]

It sounds like valvetrain or injectors noise to me in that video....

 

[Blinker]

That doesn't sound like piston slap to me, but it could be the video quality. I've been around many GM engines that had piston slap since basically new, it sounds different than what your video shows.

 

[jhs914]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
It sounds like valvetrain or injectors noise to me in that video....
I agree. Get an automotive stethoscope and listen around the injectors and the head, then the block. You should be able to isolate the area the noise is coming from.

As far as engine reliability with piston slap, I have 1999 GMC Sierra with the 5.3 LS engine that has cold start piston slap. It lasts a minute or so then disappears. The truck has 122,000 miles and runs just fine, no oil consumption. All the early LS engines do this because of the short skirt piston design. An engine that does it after warm up doesn't sound like classic piston slap to me.

 

[parshisa]

Thank you all for the feedback. Just got back from the dealership: they heard the knock and we started another pilot with 60miles on the clock - does exactly same noise, believe it or not but it slaps the heck out of it even brand new. For those planning to buy one - beware of the cold engine knock. I guess, case closed. At least for now...

 

[aquariuscsm]

Sounded to my in the video like accessory noise. What I'd try,is maybe a thicker oil,maybe 5W30. Definitely can't hurt anything.

 

[parshisa]

No it was definitely coming from the engine. As far as thicker oil goes - I won't be doing that due to possible warranty concerns.

 

[Merkava_4]

I'd be trying different oils until the slap went away.

 

[Scdevon]

The noise in the video is definitely piston slap especially if you can modulate it with light engine load around 1000 to 1500 rpm like that. It's annoying and probably harmless, but I've never understood why Japanese engines loosen up so fast like this. You hear so many Subarus and Hondas cold piston slapping out there. The owner shouldn't have to "try different oils" to quiet piston slap on a new vehicle like this. Sloppy engineering and / or quality control.

 

[parshisa]

In this case it is loosened up since day 1. Brand new engine does the same noise. They are built that way...

 

[Anduril]

Wife's old Cavalier did that on a bone cold start. Engine went to 237k and outlived the rest of the car.